Several Actors Join Broadcast Pilots

Frances O’Connor is set to co-star in Marc Cherry’s ABC pilot Hallelujah. It us set in the town of Hallelujah, Tenn., which is being torn apart by the forces of good and evil and whose fortunes change when a stranger, Rye Turner, comes to town, bringing justice, peace and possibly restoring faith. O’Connor will play Rye’s wife dealing with the aftermath of their son’s brain injury. This marks O’Connor’s return to ABC where she had a role on Cashmere Mafia. The actress, repped by Gersh, Rob Marsala and U.K.’s Artists Rights Group, joins previously cast Jesse L. Martin.

Scrubs alumna Kerry Bishe has landed the lead in the Fox single-camera pilotIceland. The project, from writer-executive producer Andy Bobrow and Sony TV, centers on Mackenzie (Bische), a 20something woman whose fiance recently passed away. Also cast in the pilot is John Boyd. Bishe, repped by WME and Brookside Artists, will next be seen in Kevin Smith’s Red State.

Tony Goldwyn has joined ABC’s Shonda Rhimes drama pilot, now named Damage Control. The project revolves around the life and work of professional fixer Olivia Price (Kerry Washington) and her dysfunctional staff. CAA-repped Goldwyn will play President Fitzgerald Grant, the charismatic Kennedy-esque U.S. President of the U.S. who taps Olivia to quiet a young woman who’s claiming she had an affair with him.

More information about the casting of comedian Jo Koy in NBC’s Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, NBC’s multicamera comedy inspired by Chelsea Handler’s autobiographical book, which centers on Chelsea (Laura Prepon), an outspoken cocktail waitress. Koy plays a handsome bartender at the bar where she works. The casting stems from Koy’s talent deal with Warner Bros. TV inked in the summer. Under the pact, he was attached to star in a comedy project based on his stand-up developed through Tom Werner’s WBTV-based Werner Entertainment. That project didn’t pan out, but Werner and and WBTV got a pilot order from NBC for Are You There Vodka, which is exec produced by Handler. Coincidentally, Koy is a regular on E!’s Chelsea Lately. Still, he had to go through the testing process until he landed a role in the pilot last night. While not a household name, Koy, repped by CAA and Lee Kernis, has built a successful touring career, selling out clubs around the country.